Over the last 20 years there have been numerous attempts to provide for the disintegration or shredding of crop material such as straw, hay, or the like. There has been a need to process this crop material for feed wagons on large farms and feed lots and for better utilization of bedding and making feed more palatable for middle and small farm operations.
The present technology, although providing for the shredding of large well-made round bales does not adequately address the processing of poorly made round bales, soft core round bales, high moisture content bales, frozen and flattened bales or bales of various shapes and sizes.
Some examples of the present known technology are High-Line Canadian patent #2086569, Haybuster Canadian patent #1186598 and Herron et al Canadian patent #1297388.
The Canadian patent "569" to High-Line teaches a semi-circular bale receiving chamber fixed to a frame. The bale is supported and rotated by two support rollers which can be driven in two directions. A rotating drum with disintegrating flails engages the bale and ejects the disintegrated material out of a side exit. It is abundantly clear that this device can only properly handle large well-made round bales. This device is totally different from applicants device in that applicants device has a reciprocating bale receiving chamber mounted on a flat material supporting means for complete acceptance and clearance of all types of bales.
Canadian patent "598" to Haybuster teaches a machine for grinding large bales having a pivoting cradle which can engage a bale and pivot it to a position in contact with flail knives for grinding. A conveyor is provided to urge the bale toward the grinding rotor at the same time rotating the bale. This device is clearly different from applicants device which has a flat bale supporting means and a bale receiving chamber that reciprocates transverse to the longitudinal axis of the machine.
Canadian patent "388" to Herron et al teaches a tiltable bale receiving chamber which has a floor rotatable relative to the walls and whose floor is mounted for pivotal longitudinal simultaneous movement with the bale chamber. Applicants device has a floor which is transversely pivotal relative to the frame and a bale chamber that moves across the floor in a back and forth motion transverse to the longitudinal axis of the frame.